2/27/17

My favorite position on the field is catcher. I love the art , the science of
catching. It is in my blood, my father
was a catcher, my brother and I were catchers. There is just something about
that position that appeals to me. I always
watch and pay attention to the catchers, study the movements, the foot work,
releases, just enjoy it all. The Mets
have been blessed over the years with
some terrific catchers. Jerry Grote, Gary Carter, Mike Piazza, Todd Hundley. Even some of the backups while not always
great were solid . Duffy Dyer, Ed Hearn, Barry Lyons. And if only Mackey
Sasser could throw back to the pitcher !

Now, we have the trio of Travis
d’Arnaud, Rene Rivera, and Kevin Plawecki. None have distinguished themselves last
season. d’Arnaud is the incumbent and will have the job. At 28 years of age he is facing a turning
point in his career. After struggling
last year, d'Arnaud when into the offseason knowing he had to improve
his offense and his defense in order to stay in the lineup. It was clear he missed Bob Geren who
left the Mets coaching staff and left the Mets without a catching
coach. There were times Travis looked lost behind the plate and that
defensive failure affected his offense. The Mets now have a catching instructor
on their staff to work with both d'Arnaud and the other catchers.. Glenn Sherlock was hired away from the Diamondbacks in
order to help New York's catchers, and Sandy Alderson is
confident the hiring will prove to be successful. The pressure is definitely on d’Arnaud to
prove that he can do what he showed us in 2015 and can handle this talented
pitching staff. He also has to stay
healthy. Travis has had a history of
injuries and must prove he can avoid injuries.
d’Arnaud will be the starting catcher.

Rene Rivera was picked up by the Mets , and went on
to be the personal catcher of Noah Syndergaard,
and was the best defensive catcher on the staff. His offense was non existent, except for a
few key hits, he clearly was on the team for his defense. He projects as the Opening Day backup.

What to do with Kevin Plawecki? The young catcher did not perform as well
offensively, as we all thought. However,
he did an admirable job working with the pitchers, running games, and defensive
prowess. He has reworked his swing ,over the past two winters and had a decent
spring with the bat last year however, not playing every day hurt him and he
did not hit at all and was sent down to the minors. He hit pretty well at Vegas clearly showing
he needs to play regularly. While I like
Plawecki, I see him starting the season in Las Vegas waiting for the call to
the bigs whether with the Mets or with someone else.

And lets not forget the pitching staff needs to help
out a little bit, by holding runners on base better, and giving the catchers a
better chance of throwing out runners.

It sure is going to be a fun spring and a fun season
to see how all of this plays out.